Jamie Soward spoiled Newcastle's opening round NRL party with a golden point field goal that delivered the Dragons a 15-14 victory over the Knights at Hunter Stadium.

In an exciting round one encounter dominated by defence in slippery conditions, St George Illawarra made the most of some sloppy handling by the hosts, coached by former Dragons mentor Wayne Bennett, to pinch victory late in the first period of extra time.

"We have been waiting a long time to get round one of the way," Soward told Grandstand after his 25-metre effort to win the game.

"There has been a lot of hype.

"It's nice to play like we have over the last three years and get a win."

Soward said a defence dominated clash was to be expected.

"It's a product of how both teams have been coached," the five-eighth said.

"Every time we come to Newcastle it seems to be the same type of pattern.

"A Wayne Bennett-prepared side is always going to come out and play 80 minutes and you can see why they are one of the favourites."

The Dragons held a 8-6 lead at half-time after both sides crossed one each in the opening 40 minutes of the season courtesy of tries to Brett Morris and Jarrod Mullen.

The visitors extended their advantage to 14-8 after 48 minutes thanks to a Matt Cooper try but James McManus's converted try and a Kurt Gidley penalty goal eight minute from time locked the scores and setup a thrilling finish.

Dragons prop Matt Prior knocked on in the first set of golden point only for former St George Illawarra player Adam Cuthbertson to hand the ball back with the Knights in perfect field position.

Zeb Taia then spilt the ball in his own half with just a minute left in the first period of extra time and Soward directed his charges perfectly before landing a sweet one-pointer to give Steve Price a winning start to his coaching career.

Mullen, who scored a handy solo try to get the Knights into the game, said his side's 13 errors came back to haunt his side.

"It's heartbreaking when you bust your butt for 80 minutes and you get done by a field goal," the half-back said.

"We just made silly mistakes in crucial areas.

"We had some attacking opportunities but we dropped the ball."

Mullen said he was not too concerned about a lack of points in the first hit-out for the season.

"We have been focussing a lot on our defence in the off-season and I think that showed," he added.

"Our attack will come in the next couple of weeks. It's all about timing. Let's get our defence right and our attack will come."

In a sour incident, returning Newcastle veteran Timana Tahu was placed on report for kicking Prior while on the ground, sparking a melee.